Kinchen bangs out a double

Double your pleasure, double your fun. On March 11, it was Sam DeCicco who had a banner day on DRF Tournaments, using his multitabling skills to take down seats to both Keeneland’s Grade One Gamble and the Wynn Challenge.

On Sunday, 2015 National Handicapping Championship Tour champion Jonathon Kinchen pulled off a double. He had a five-figure day on DRFT, landing seats to the Wynn and the Del Mar Betting Challenge, the biggest prize the site has to offer.

Kinchen ran one-two in the Del Mar contest, with his second ticket at $80.80 outfinishing his primary ticket at $57.80. He overcame a slow start on the winning entry (just $3.60 through the first quarter of the contest). From there, he chipped away with six collections, none larger than the $17.60 win-place combined he got for Taketothestreets in Oaklawn’s seventh race.

In his tour-winning year, Kinchen had a disappointing Del Mar contest. He was near the top of the leaderboard on Day 1 but bet himself out of position on Day 2. This time around, he’ll look to carry his success over the two days.

Unlike DeCicco last weekend, Kinchen played different picks across his winning entries. In the Wynn contest, he ended up with $94, once again on his second card. He started stronger, with $17.40 winner Senor Grits in Oaklawn’s fourth, and collected points in an additional eight races.

For completing his own exacta in the Del Mar contest, Kinchen wins a $7,000 Del Mar seat, $500 in travel, and an additional $1,000 in breakage credits for his second-place finish. For the Wynn triumph, he gets a $2,000 entry plus $500 in travel a total of $11,000 for his Sunday haul.

Also on Sunday, four players won their way into the Horse Player World Series at the Orleans in Las Vegas on March 30 to April 1: Eric Wing ($77.20), Ken McMahan ($76), Bruce Dagostini ($69.20), Jay Wiggs ($68.60).

Wing is well known in the contest world as the emcee of the NHC and thus is ineligible to play in the tourney. The HPWS represents another chance for him to compete for his share of a seven-figure purse in a Las Vegas handicapping contest. In Sunday’s qualifier, he had just three collections, but one of them was Valedictorian ($48.60) in Gulfstream’s 11th, the most points available in a single race.

McMahan and Wiggs chipped away without the benefit of Valedictorian, but Dagostini’s card was notable. He caught a flyer with Senor Grits, added nothing until Valedictorian in the third-to-last race, and then needed the $3.20 in place points he got from Bow Town Cat to avoid getting bubbled.

On Saturday, the featured events were qualifiers for Keeneland and Monmouth’s Pick Your Prize event.

The Monmouth qualifier, which utilized the all-in format, drew 69 entries, and the qualifiers were Bernard Reilly ($157), Jason Alonzo ($124), and Bob Gilbert ($114). All three had back-to-back scores in Santa Anita’s fourth with Prime Attraction ($56.40) and Oaklawn’s seventh with Streamline ($35.60) in the fourth and fifth contest events.

Reilly had an amazing day, collecting points in seven races. After the aforementioned midcard double, he added two more winners in the $20 range but only needed one to win outright. In the end, he was clear of second by $33.

In the Keeneland contest, Anthony Laurino won his $3,000 entry plus $500 in travel. He tallied $122.40 on the day on the strength of five collections. His best price also was Prime Attraction. Laurino was consistent throughout the contest. He didn’t go more than two races in a row without hitting, and his four other scores each were for at least $14.40.

Action returns to DRFT on Wednesday with feeders, credit builders, matchups, and winner-takes-all contests. Players should take special note of the Triple Play feeders, where they can start on their journey to win into all three major spring contests in one shot: Keeneland, Santa Anita Preakness, and Monmouth. For more information on the Triple Play contest, check out www .drf.com/news/drft-offers-3-1qualifier-plus-bonus.

For more on what’s happening at DRF Tournaments, go to tournaments.drf.com.